Colloidal mineral promoters would like you to believe that mineral deficiency is a widespread cause of disease. To counter this alleged problem, they are marketing products said to be water-leached from shale in the Emery Coal Field of central Utah. According to various sales pitches, an ailing cattle rancher named Thomas Jefferson Clark was told about a healing stream by Chief Soaring Eagle, a Paiute medicine man and elder. The miracle waters were well-known to the local natives who supposedly had benefited from them for hundreds of years [1]. Clark drank from them and quickly recovered from his malady. Intrigued, he followed the stream back to its source in organic-rich shales. By 1931, after several years of experiments, he sold his own brand of tonic rich in "colloidal minerals." As word spread, a minor legend was born. Light Energy Productions has recorded an account of Clark's many adventures [2]. Curiously, according to an article in Self magazine, the present-day Paiutes have never heard of either Chief Soaring Eagle or the renowned healing powers of their ancestral waters [3].
The most notorious colloidal mineral promoter is Joel D. Wallach, DVM, ND, who says that Americans desperately need his minerals. Wallach has a long history of involvement in dubious healthcare schemes, such laetrile treatment for cancer, as well as chelation and hydrogen peroxide therapies for coronary artery disease. He has also hosted an AM radio talk show in San Diego titled "Let's Play Doctor" and briefly plied naturopathy at Kurt Donsbach's Hospital Santa Monica. His widely distributed "Dead Doctors Don't Lie!" audiotape [4] quotes from U.S. Senate Document 264:
[Erosion and unwise farming methods] have led to mineral-depleted soils resulting in mineral-deficient plants, livestock, and people . . . . .the alarming fact is that food now being raised on millions of acres of land that no longer contain enough of certain minerals are starving us -- no matter how much of them we eat. No man of today can eat enough fruits and vegetables to supply his system with the minerals he requires for perfect health because his stomach isn't big enough to hold them. . . . Laboratory tests prove that the fruit, vegetables, grains, eggs, and even the milk and meats of today are not what they were a few generations ago. . . . It is bad news to learn from our leading authorities that 99% of the American people are deficient in these minerals [74th Congress, 2nd Session, 1936].The cited quotation is genuine, but it did not, as colloidal mineral promoters usually imply, arise from a government research study. In fact, it is merely a reprint of a baseless opinion piece that originally appeared in the June 1936 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine and was placed into the Congressional record by a Florida senator [5]. Most Americans are not slowly starving to death or dying from mineral deficiency.
Some promoters use fraudulent "symptomatology questionnaires" for assessing purported mineral deficiency-related health problems. The test asks more than 1,000 questions about physical and psychological symptoms. As far as I can tell, everyone who takes it will be advised that supplements are needed. The test costs $125 but is free if colloidal minerals are purchased.
At present, five mines [6] in Emery County, Utah supply three main manufacturers [7] with bulk quantities of shale leachate that are repackaged and sold as distinct products by a burgeoning network of multilevel distributors. T.J. Clark & Co.'s Daddy Dearest 1-9/Blackhawk Mine, which started it all in the late 1920s, is the source of "BHI Lifeminerals," "Toddy," "Golden Minerals," and other product lines. The Clark company controls leases totaling approximately 20 acres and has established major overseas distributorships. In an effort to distinguish itself from a host of recent competitors, it downplays its product's shale origins and has coined the term "PolyfloraminTM" (literally "many plant minerals") to describe it. Its main rival, Rockland Corporation's Body Toddy Mine, opened in 1985 and produces products for American Longevity, Body Systems Technology, Source of Health and LifePlus. Rockland currently owns 1,000 acres of shale leases in Emery County and a new production/bottling facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Its reserves are estimated to be 320 million metric tons of shale, enough for 950 billion gallons of product. Rockland has no qualms about the source of its products: several color photos of mining operations are prominently displayed on its home page. New Vision International and Nature's Sunshine, have refused to disclose the source of the leachate used in their products.
In all of the operations, the shale (often referred to as "a special ancient rainforest deposit") is mined, crushed, ground to a powder-like consistency, and placed into large stainless steel vats. The vats are then submerged in "cool, contaminant free water at low temperatures." Many distributors stress these conditions to counter claims that acids, solvents, and high temperatures will ruin the minerals' special properties. Unnamed competitors are routinely accused of using such faster methods in order to force mineral extraction. After 3-4 weeks, during which time water-soluble components of the shale enter into solution, the bitter-tasting leachate is siphoned off, filtered and ready for tonic, capsule, and oral-spray production. Depending upon the filtration process used, a variable amount of insoluble particulate matter suspended in the leachate will pass into the final product. Advertisements state that colloidal supplements contain 75 "minerals." Actually they are elements occurring in various mineral forms: Ag, Al, As, Au, B, Ba, Be, Bi, Br, C, Ca, Cd, Ce, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Dy, Er, Eu, F, Fe, Ga, Gd, Ge, H, Hf, Hg, Ho, I, In, Ir, K, La, Li, Lu, Mg, Mn, Mo, N, Na, Nb, Nd, Ni, O, Os, P, Pb, Pd, Pr, Pt, Re, Rh, Ru, S, Sb, Sc, Se, Si, Sm, Sn, Sr, Ta, Tb, Te, Th, Ti, Tl, Tm, V, W, Y, Yb, Zn, and Zr. Some distributors modify their tonics with flavorings and/or nutritional additives, but most sell them straight and emphasize their "all-natural" quality.
